There is no insurmountable challenge in the life of Narendra Modi… and there is no NDA without Amit Shah: Dr Chandra

Taking a close look at the results of the recently conducted general elections, the formation of NDA, and the two important alliance partners that have lent their support to BJP and joined NDA, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra revels into the intricacies of alliance partnership and the future of Indian politics. Dr Chandra stresses that Modi has come across as the hero of the alliance with Naidu and Nitish expressing their faith in the PM’s abilities. He also reveals how other nations had already realised that Modi would come to power again, how independent candidate are awaiting their induction in NDA which may take NDA’s tally further, why Modi expressed his faith in the Constitution and how Congress’s narrative that BJP may change Constitution and end reservation resulted in the party suffering a serious blow in its poll fortunes. Excerpts…

• The meeting of NDA’s parliamentary party was held recently. Who do you think came out as the hero of the parliamentary party?
  Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: The real hero in the nation is Narendra Modi and the hero of that meeting was also Modi for the simple reason of how warmly he met with every leader and MP. He kept his hand on Nitish’s shoulder and the way he interacted with Chandrababu Naidu, they all were ‘Natmastak’ before him. Modi was in the aura of a national leader and did not appear for a moment that they were partner parties or if they could drive a bargain or make demands. So Modi was the first hero of that meeting. The second hero of the meeting was Chandrababu Naidu, who assured Modi not to worry and that he, as an alliance partner, was with Modi in whatever he does. Another hero was Nitish Kumar who tried to touch Modi’s feet and stressed that whatever Modi wants to be done, he will always stand behind him. So these two big alliance partners have given Modi a complete free hand and kind of a blank cheque to run the government as he deems fit. Another silent hero in this entire episode is Bhupender Yadav for the dignity and honour with which he carried out the proceedings of the meeting. He has won the election from Alwar and is a mastermind strategist who has been taken out of Rajya Sabha after twelve years in the Upper House to contest election for the Lok Sabha. I observed his campaign and it was a good campaign that made him win by 48,000 votes. There are a huge number of Muslim voters in his constituency but he negated that and now he is a lucky man for the party. He has made the party win elections in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and recently Odisha where the party has never won in the past. So it could be that the great work done by him in Odisha, it was the pat on his back by Modi-Shah that he got the opportunity to manage the proceedings of the meeting.

• You had said in the previous show that Modi has already taken the oath of serving as PM for the third time in his mind. What would you like to say about that?
  Modi himself had said that the almighty has sent him for special work i.e. to complete mission 2047. And till the time that target is achieved, the almighty will not call me back. So how will that mission be achieved? It will be through working as PM or perhaps becoming President, in case the form of government changes in India in the next fifteen or twenty years. So he is wedded with the agenda of a ‘Developed India’ by 2047, so he has already made a mental vow regarding it. Secondly, he will not wait for the results. His work is already ongoing at such a pace. For example, even before the election, his agenda for the next 125 days was already in the pipeline which means he was so sure and confident about his future.

• It is perhaps the first of its kind of occurrence where even before a Prime Minister has been voted into power, major nations of the world like USA, Britain, and Russia already extended their congratulations to Modi?
  Of course. This speaks of Narendra Modi’s popularity and credibility across the globe. To me, it appeared that all the nations of the world were awaiting that the returning officer would hand him the signed certificate of his victory. So America congratulated him, Russia and Britain as well while the Mexican President called him up. And now Modi is scheduled to tour various nations. So this is his credibility across the world. Modi is India’s PM and it is not only his honour but the honour of India too that all the world has kept its eyes on the nation. This is a moment of pride for the entire country.

• Some individuals have said that the BJP’s tally of 240 may increase to 275 in the next few months. Do you think such a miracle is possible?
  See, anything is possible with Modi and Shah. Just take a look at the numbers. If the two biggest alliance partners back out then the NDA will be at 265 which means it will be short by seven MPs to form a majority. It is said that about a dozen independent MPs are already knocking on Amit Shah’s doors to enter the NDA and I am hopeful that they would enter the alliance easily. They need only seven, but there are fourteen individuals that are in waiting to join in. It is just the start and one can not say for sure where will it end? It could be that perhaps a major party may merge itself into the NDA alliance or even in the BJP, apart from the already existing alliance partners. I have said it in the past that Narendra Modi of 272 seats are equal to Narendra Modi of 400 seats.

• What has Modi said after the poll results?
  Modi has made a few important points. Firstly he has assured everyone in the coalition that he will work according to the Constitution and it will be his guiding book. He has also said that he will work with all states irrespective of the fact as to which party is in power in states. Secondly, his work will continue unabated, be it his stand against corruption or his development agenda. He stressed that wins and losses are part of electoral politics but he is not affected by it and will continue to carry out his work. So his basic statement was that he would work according to the Constitution. He also said that the people have voted for NDA for the third time in a row which is a moment of pride for everyone. Basically, he wanted to assure allies that he will work according to Constitution.

• Sharad Pawar said that one day BJP will take over all opposition Parliamentarians. What is your take on this statement?
  That is experience and politics and pertains to survival of the fittest. Everything is fair in politics and war. So it was Pawar’s bid to make Naidu and Nitish understand that the parties that they took along, had broken its MPs and absorbed them into BJP. So he meant that it is a challenge and one should keep their flock together so that someone else does not take benefit of them. This is a power game at its peak.

• You had mentioned that the narrative set by Congress that the BJP will change the Constitution and that it will thereafter end the reservation of SC and STs resulted in a major loss to the BJP. Exactly how much of a loss did this narrative cause the BJP?
  The actual loss is yet to be assessed but the party has been limited to 240 seats, so there is a definite loss of seats. Even if they would have played their worst game, they should have had a minimum 275- 280 seats, so they are already 40 seats less. If we take into account the prepoll optimistic figures, then 325-350 seats, so by that measure there has been a loss of over 70 seats. According to me, this narrative regarding Constitution and reservation has resulted in a forty percent loss and in the coming days the data will be analysed at every level right from PMO to party and government as well. However, it can be said for sure that it was substantial damage for the BJP.

• What was the N-factor of this election?
  The beginning and end of the N-factor was Narendra Modi. There were supplementary factors as well namely Nitish and Naidu. So one can say that there are three Nfactors. But basically, the towering factor in the country is only one ‘N,’ which is Narendra Modi.

• What is your take on people lodged in jails winning elections?
  See, there is democracy in the nation. Secondly, the people against whom there are ED and CBI cases, too have won. These include Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mahua Moitra like leaders. But like you mentioned, Amritpal won the election while being in jail and who has taken up the flag of Khalistan in the hope of becoming the next Bhindrewala but the government put him behind bars after sixteen FIRs were registered against him. There was a suspense that he may be encountered but nothing of that sort happened. But now he has contested as an independent and has won by around two lakh votes. It is an extremely serious development in the politics of Punjab. He can run the politics from jail and now branches can be run from jail. The central government should take cognizance in the matter that it is one thing to vote in Parliament but quite another that if he becomes a hero in Punjab, which is actually an extreme point of concern for the government of India and especially for Amit Shah and Home Ministry. Then there is one Sheikh who is in Tihar for terror funding and won the election because he has resources. Third is Surjeet Singh, son of Beant Singh who opened fire at Indira Gandhi. Although Surjeet is not behind bars, but the issue is that he and Amritpal could be a point of major concern for the politics of Punjab. It should be one of the top priorities for the NDA government to see, if Punjab is heading back to the Khalistan-related terrorism era?

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